"The secrecy that enshrouds the investigation into a biker shootout in May that left nine people dead and led to the mass-arrest of 177 people is hardly surprising in this city, where public scrutiny is rare and unwelcome.
On the banks of the Brazos River in Central Texas, Waco and the surrounding county are largely run by a close-knit circle of judges, prosecutors and law enforcement that defense lawyers complain leads local agencies to close ranks in the aftermath of this most recent calamity.
It's a city where a district judge and district attorney are former law partners, the mayor is the son of a former mayor, the sheriff comes from a long line of lawmen and Waco pioneers and the sheriff's brother was the district attorney's chief investigator."
"Bikers and public watchdogs have criticized authorities here for how they've handled the investigation, citing the mass arrests in which people were held for days or weeks on $1 million bonds without sufficient evidence to support such actions four months after the shootings.
No formal charges have been made, and it remains unclear whose bullets, including police bullets, struck the dead and injured, or when cases will be presented to a grand jury, which is currently led by a Waco police detective."
"Although police and the district attorney described last spring everyone who was taken into custody as criminals, an Associated Press review of a Texas Department of Public Safety database found no convictions listed under the names and birthdates of more than two-thirds of those arrested."
I'm not seeing a lot of parallels with black American communities.
This was a true shootout. A bunch of morons who had no business carrying guns and finally succumbed to their foolish code of ethics.
This surveillance video doesn't appear to hold much evidence for the prosecution. Accept for one guy getting out his pistol, there is little action on the dining terrace other than duck and cover or flight. All of the shooting is off-camera to the left. Still, a good detective can sometimes get to the bottom of a case like this. Or they may never solve it due to a strict code of silence.
"I'm not seeing a lot of parallels with black American communities."
I wasn't suggesting any parallels in regards to the event FJ. I was wondering out loud what the effect would be if say the Ferguson PD and prosecutor's office had clamped down on the information flow as was done in the case of the Waco event. I'm waiting to find out how many of the 177 people arrested end up actually end up being formally charged. Or perhaps wording it better would be how many will eventually end up with charges dropped.
ReplyDelete"The secrecy that enshrouds the investigation into a biker shootout in May that left nine people dead and led to the mass-arrest of 177 people is hardly surprising in this city, where public scrutiny is rare and unwelcome.
On the banks of the Brazos River in Central Texas, Waco and the surrounding county are largely run by a close-knit circle of judges, prosecutors and law enforcement that defense lawyers complain leads local agencies to close ranks in the aftermath of this most recent calamity.
It's a city where a district judge and district attorney are former law partners, the mayor is the son of a former mayor, the sheriff comes from a long line of lawmen and Waco pioneers and the sheriff's brother was the district attorney's chief investigator."
"Bikers and public watchdogs have criticized authorities here for how they've handled the investigation, citing the mass arrests in which people were held for days or weeks on $1 million bonds without sufficient evidence to support such actions four months after the shootings.
No formal charges have been made, and it remains unclear whose bullets, including police bullets, struck the dead and injured, or when cases will be presented to a grand jury, which is currently led by a Waco police detective."
"Although police and the district attorney described last spring everyone who was taken into custody as criminals, an Associated Press review of a Texas Department of Public Safety database found no convictions listed under the names and birthdates of more than two-thirds of those arrested."
http://www.wacotrib.com/news/twin-peaks-biker-shooting/local-officials-under-scrutiny-for-biker-shootout-case/article_d0b2cbaa-5a5b-11e5-a8c0-b7312c763d66.html
Imagine how this would have played out with a similar justice system in say, Ferguson or Baltimore.
Fascinating details. Thanks.
DeleteI'm not seeing a lot of parallels with black American communities.
ReplyDeleteThis was a true shootout. A bunch of morons who had no business carrying guns and finally succumbed to their foolish code of ethics.
This surveillance video doesn't appear to hold much evidence for the prosecution. Accept for one guy getting out his pistol, there is little action on the dining terrace other than duck and cover or flight. All of the shooting is off-camera to the left. Still, a good detective can sometimes get to the bottom of a case like this. Or they may never solve it due to a strict code of silence.
"I'm not seeing a lot of parallels with black American communities."
DeleteI wasn't suggesting any parallels in regards to the event FJ. I was wondering out loud what the effect would be if say the Ferguson PD and prosecutor's office had clamped down on the information flow as was done in the case of the Waco event.
I'm waiting to find out how many of the 177 people arrested end up actually end up being formally charged. Or perhaps wording it better would be how many will eventually end up with charges dropped.
It seems a lot of people were arrested and held on a million dollar bail for the crime of crawling in public.
ReplyDelete